Big week ahead for Bartlett in Upstate Eight race
The Bartlett softball team is facing its biggest week of the season if the Hawks are going to stay in the hunt for the Upstate Eight Conference championship.
Bartlett, which stands at 9-2 in the UEC, hosts St. Charles North Monday, hosts Neuqua Valley Tuesday and travels to Lake Park Wednesday.
St. Charles North leads the league race with just one UEC loss. Lake Park is also 9-2 and Neuqua Valley stands at 8-3 in the UEC.
Bartlett lost to St. Charles North 4-3 on April 13, beat Lake Park 6-5 on April 9 and beat Neuqua 4-3 April 12.
If that isn't enough of a week for the Hawks, they'll host 18-2 Fremd in a nonconference doubleheader next Saturday. Fremd lost to Elk Grove on Friday and will likely slip from the No. 1 spot in the Daily Herald Top 20 when it's posted on dailyherald.com Sunday.
FVC Valley race: The Fox Valley Conference Valley Division race is also still up for grabs and has some key games this week. Cary-Grove (7-1) has a one-game lead over Huntley (6-2) but Jacobs (5-3) can't be counted out just yet. Huntley plays at Jacobs on Tuesday, while Huntley and Cary-Grove wait until May 10 to lock horns again, which will begin the third round of division play. With three rounds of games to determine the conference champion, this is a race that could go into the last week of the regular season. And don't be surprised if Crystal Lake South, just 3-5 in the Valley but a hard-hitting team, pulls off an upset or two. The Gators already own a 13-9 win over Jacobs, and only lost to Huntley 6-4 on Friday.
Move that on-deck hitter, dang it: In Jacobs' 3-0 win over Cary-Grove earlier in the week, another strong case was made for moving the on-deck hitter behind the batter at the plate. Jacobs senior right fielder Brooke Frederiksen was in the Golden Eagles' on-deck circle next to her team's third-base dugout with a left-handed hitter at the plate. A foul line drive nailed Frederiksen in the leg and she had to be carried off the field. Fortunately for Frederiksen and the Golden Eagles, she was able to return later in the game and made a brilliant game-ending catch on Abbe Wenckowski's bases-loaded slicing liner in the seventh inning. If one of the reasons for moving the pitchers distance to 43 feet was safety, then the on-deck situation needs to be addressed as well.
Gone with the wind: Marengo coach Dwain Nance and acting Burlington Central coach Lowell Oranger actually did discuss postponing Thursday's game on Rocket Hill. On one of the windiest days of the spring, it was even worse on The Hill, which is the highest elevated point in Kane County. Some observers suggested gusts were as strong as 50 mph.
"It's the worst I've seen it in my seven years up here," said Oranger.
Having graduated from BC in 1975 and having spent around 40 years playing, watching and covering games on The Hill, Oranger certainly won't get any argument from this corner. At times, I had flashbacks to my high school baseball days when home runs flew out of the then-varsity field, which is now the sophomore field behind the varsity softball field, with regularity. By the time Thursday's game was over, the players weren't the only ones caked in dirt.
Class 1/2A postseason: St. Edward is the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A Lisle regional and will meet the host Lions in the semifinals on Wednesday, May 19 at Benedictine University. Top-seeded Immaculate Conception plays No. 4 Chicago Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 18 and the winners meet on Saturday, May 22 for the right to advance to the Lisle sectional at Benedictine. St. Edward beat Lisle 3-2 on April 15 but the Lions didn't pitch ace Bekka Houda. Houda and Lisle ended St. Edward's season last year in the sectional semifinals. St. Edward lost to IC 8-5 this season on April 19. In Class 1A, Westminster Christian is the No. 6 seed in the Serena regional and travels to No. 3 Newark on Monday, May 17 for the regional opener. Class 3A and 4A pairings will be out later this week.
Early to bed ...: After committing 20 errors in three games at last Saturday's Larkin Slugfest, the St. Edward softball team practiced at 6:30 a.m. Monday and Tuesday. And despite losing to Guerin 4-2 on Monday, the Green Wave did bounce back to go 4-3 for the week, making fewer errors every day. Some position changes also worked out well as coach Mike Rolando and his staff moved Tarah McShane behind the plate, Kelsey Richmond to third base, Kristina Brockner to shortstop, Kali Kossakowski to second and Vernoica Rolando to right field.
"We looked sharper on Monday night and I didn't want to make them practice again at 6:30 Tuesday but they said, 'No, coach, we want to practice,' " said coach Rolando. "We beat Marian (Central) Tuesday night and after that I told them they had to sleep. They don't want to lose and they knew the struggles we were having. They weren't proud of the way they played (at Slugfest) and it's great that they have the work ethic to get up that early in the morning and get out to practice."
Coming back strong: South Elgin is 8-3 in its last 11 games after starting the season 1-9. Two of the Storm's 3 losses have come in second games of nonconference doubleheaders, to Prairie Ridge and St. Edward. The other was a heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Upstate Eight contender Bartlett.
"It's just a belief in each other and strength of schedule," said Storm coach Jason Schaal of the turnaround. "And (sophomore) Sam (Bolin) has been doing an outstanding job pitching."
What a week: South Elgin freshman Kara Rodriguez had one of the best weeks in the area last week. Rodriguez hit .770 in leading the Storm to a 5-1 week.
All-star game: The Seventh Annual Dave Fehlman Memorial Senior All-Star Game will be played at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 14 at Judson University in Elgin. The game is sponsored by the Northern Illinois Lightning, Fox Valley Sports Academy, Judson and Scheffler Electric and supported by the Daily Herald. Organizers are seeking additional sponsors. Coaches have been sent nomination forms from 20 high schools in and around the Fox Valley area. April Stary of St. Charles North will coach the South squad and Tammy Olson of Cary-Grove the North. For further information, or to become a sponsor, call (847-812-1522) or e-mail me at jradtke@dailyherald.com.
A plea: Travel softball is awesome. It keeps me off the streets in the summer, that's for sure. But it's not summer yet and if I hear one more parent or player make the comment, "I can't wait until summer," I think I'm going to scream. I can't wait for summer either, but there's a month left in the high school season. THE HIGH SCHOOL SEASON. I wish softball wasn't following the pattern of volleyball and soccer before it and forming a mentality that the high school season is just a warm up for summer. Parents, think about your high school years. Don't those memories go far beyond any summer team you played on? Why would you want any less for your kids? It's time travel ball coaches and high school coaches got back to working with each other instead of against each other. The game, and the rewards it can offer, is for the kids, not the coaches. And kids who are being led to believe their high school season and the experiences they have in high school sports are no longer important are being led down the wrong path. June will be here soon enough. Parents and players alike please, please allow yourselves to regain your school spirit and care about your high school team. And travel ball coaches wandering around high school games - please, if you can't say anything positive about the high school coach then don't say anything at all.
And that's my rant for today.